Pretty Padded Laptop Covers by fernfiddlehead on etsy.com
Here’s a product that not only protects your laptop in a carry-on when you travel (or tote your laptop to the local coffee shop), but also evokes a smile when you pull it out of your bag. Laptop covers by crafty seamstress Cathy Moore of etsy.com’s fernfiddlehead shop come in whimsical, upbeat, colorful cotton prints. Their design is simple, clean and durable — just my style.
Sleeve for a 15-inch laptop.
Laptop covers by fernfiddlehead come in three different styles: an open-topped sleeve, an envelope-like case and a zippered pouch. I emailed Cathy and told her I liked the idea of easy accessibility that would come with a simple sleeve, so I sent her the dimensions of my 15-inch Dell laptop (I have a bulky extra battery, so I wanted to make sure her standard 15-inch size would fit), and she sent me a custom cover in a pretty, linen sage green exterior complemented by a red, blue, orange and green flower print inside. In between the two layers of fabric, poly batting provides plenty of cushion.
I used my laptop sleeve on the go this past weekend when I flew to Park City, Utah. I tucked my protected Dell into my Briggs & Riley tote, where it felt ultra-secure and protected by plenty of padding. I liked having a classy-looking sleeve to cover my laptop when I left it in my hotel room — again, it just felt nice and cushioned when tucked in a chest of drawers (yes, I know I probably should have found the safe). Other sleeves I’ve used are boring, stretchy black wetsuit-like material. These laptop covers are fun.
This 13-inch laptop envelope case closes with a beige hemp string wound between two buttons.
If you buy a standard sleeve off the etsy.com site it’s $21; any custom work, add an additional $5 to the base size. And there are plenty of standard sizes and styles available — for Macbooks and 10-inch “mini laptops” too. Note that the material used in these covers does not stretch to fit (i.e. you don’t want to order too small), so if you do have any questions about sizing, you can contact Cathy through the etsy.com site. She responded to my inquiries quickly. You can also return items, preferably within 10 days.
Overall these covers are quite feminine, but a couple of patterns I see on the site are sort-of manly — one is a print of white old-fashioned cars on a black background (still, not sporty enough for my husband to want to use). I think any of fernfiddlehead’s gadget covers — note she also makes iPod pockets and e-reader pouches — would make excellent Mother’s Day gifts.
Posted by Kara in General Gear, Kids and Family on March 12th, 2010
BPA-free Water Bottles From Innate
In a sea of water bottles it’s hard to stand out, but in my experience the ones from Innate are rugged and work well for travelers.
With a kid and a personal trainer wife in the house, I have tried out more than my fair share of water bottles over the years. The Innate ones haven’t let me down. I always carry a water bottle with me when I travel internationally and use it in conjunction with a Steripen to avoid fouling the Earth and oceans with more single-use plastic. (For more on that nastiness, see the 5 Gyres Project site.)
For any traveler who cares even a little bit about the destruction of the planet, a water bottle is essential gear. It is worthy of a decent investment, especially if you want to avoid the potential effects of BPA, found in many hard plastic bottles. The science is not all that convincing on the dangers of BPA for adults, in my opinion, but better safe than sorry and besides, one of these stainless steel water bottles from Innate could last you for 20 vacations or a trip around the world—not bad for something that lists for $12-$20. When you’re done, you recycle it. 
I especially like this Vite Plus V2 version pictured top left. It holds 22 ounces, has a vented drinking spout, there are indentations on the sides for your fingers, and a loop on the top for holding it or pulling it out of your carrier (like this Cruising Caddy I reviewed before.) Plus it has something you don’t get from some brands like Sigg: a large opening at the top so you can use a Steripen purifier. For me, this is the complete package, leaving me wanting for nothing.
Innate makes a variety of other styles though, like the Mizu one pictured on the right and a few monster bottles like the Mega Fresco that hold 40 ounces. Plus there are some smaller kid-friendly versions. All are made from food-grade stainless steel sourced from Korea for high quality consistency. They also make some double-walled vacuum versions for keeping hot coffee hot or cold wine cold. I wasn’t real thrilled with the placement of the handle and button on the Kaze vacuum mug I reviewed last year, but without the handle it works great and keeps coffee hot for 10 hours.
You can get Innate products at your local gear shop or online at REI and Backcountry.com.
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Kids and Family on March 11th, 2010
Trapster Warns of Speed Traps, Red Light Cameras
CB radios were once the fad for tipping other drivers about speed traps. But the CB is so ’70s.
Enter the modern-day replacement, Trapster—a free app for smartphones that can give drivers advance warnings of speed traps and red light and speed cameras.
Trapster’s database includes more than 1.5 million reported traps around the world. When your iPhone or other GPS-equipped smartphone gets within half a mile of one, you’ll hear a voice warning and the spot will be marked on a moving map. The warning distance can be set from one-fourth to one mile.
When you see a trap, you can add it to the Trapster database with the push of a button. Other users can confirm the location, which helps make the map more accurate. A data plan is required for your smartphone to send the information to the company’s server.
But not all the reports come from drivers who spot the traps. In Texas, the Travis County Sheriff’s Department (Austin area) is entering enforcement locations to encourage safe driving. According to Trapster, deputies also upload other information such as road closures, traffic jams, accidents and dangerous intersections.
I’m impressed by the broad range of phones and operating systems supported by Trapster. It runs on the iPhone as well as Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Phone and Palm devices, plus some Garmin and Tom Tom GPS units. If you don’t have one of those, you can get text message alerts, or use Trapster’s website to print out directions that include the locations of speed traps and enforcement cameras.
Trapster isn’t perfect. Where I live, it shows a red light camera where there’s no light at all. The information will only be as good as the number of people who actively use it and keep the maps updated. The app has more than four million users.
Also, some law-enforcement officers have expressed concern that such apps can be distracting to drivers.
My other problem with Trapster is the company’s terms and conditions, which users must agree to when they register on the site. Now, I usually don’t even read these. But I’d heard there was something particularly onerous in Trapster’s agreement—and it’s this.
If you knowingly don’t provide correct, current and complete information while registering or using the site, you agree to pay Trapster $25,000.
I asked Trapster’s Stefanie Frederick why this was part of the agreement, and she replies, “As you know, most companies have privacy notices or terms of use pages… that being said, the policy is just saying that there are penalties if a user maliciously uses Trapster on purpose. But we hope that never happens.”
For some reason, that condition still bothers me. And while the company can “hope that never happens,” users have agreed to pay $25,000 if they report false information on the site. That could make a free app pretty expensive.
If you can live with the language in the terms and conditions, Trapster is a roadworthy app to take along on your travels.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on March 2nd, 2010
Cyber Clean: Good for Road Warriors?
It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to see on an infomercial while flipping through the TV channels late at night.
But does Cyber Clean, marketed as a “high tech cleaning compound” for keyboards and electronic devices, really work and should you make room for it in your suitcase?
The first time I came across Cyber Clean, it was being hawked on the floor of the 2010 International CES. It’s a gel that feels a lot like Silly Putty and works by stretching and pressing it down on the surface to be cleaned.
The dirt it picks up is folded over into the gel and encapsulated, so the goo can be stored and reused. A “strength meter” on the package shows when it gets too dirty and should be discarded. The folks at Cyber Clean say it’s ideal for keyboards since it will mold to the shape between the keys.
Cyberclean could also be used for cell phones, and telephones and TV remote controls in hotel rooms. At the hotels where I’ve stayed, it looks like remotes are seldom, if ever, cleaned by the housekeeping staff. If I’m eating in the room, I won’t change channels with the remote without washing my hands afterward.
Cyberclean does help reach into the nooks and crannies where dirt can hide in keyboards. And I could see using it for TV remotes. Research sponsored by the company found it does work against staph and other bacteria.
I gave a sample of Cyber Clean to a couple of friends and asked them to try it on their office keyboards. One thought it was “icky.” Another said while it worked, pressing it on the keyboard took some time and he thought a product like Clorox Wipes would be faster.
The 2.65 oz. version of Cyber Clean, in a zip pouch, sells at most stores between $5 and $9 for a single pack. It’s available from Amazon, electronic and office-supply stores and home-improvement retailers.
I’m no germaphobe, as you can see from my review here of a product that covers airplane seats. But computer keyboards and TV remotes are notorious for hiding gunk and grime.
For my travels, I’d put Cyber Clean in the optional category. If you’re concerned about germs on the road, it could be useful—or another product might work just as well.
Posted by JohnG in General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on March 1st, 2010
These Chums Will Help You Keep Your Glasses
The main excuse people give for not buying quality sunglasses is usually this: “I always lose them, so I’m afraid to spend a lot.”
Hey, I’ve said the same thing myself in the past. (Ditto for expensive leather gloves and fancy umbrellas.) There’s nothing worse than losing something nice, as opposed to something cheap and crappy you don’t care about.
There’s one way to better the odds of holding onto good sunglasses though, or your real glasses if that’s the case. You can use an eyewear retainer from Chums. You hook something onto the stems that allows the glasses to hang around your neck. So on or off your face, they’re still on your person.
“But those things are so dorky” or “Do I look like a surfer?” I can hear you saying. Well, there are probably a lot more of these eyewear retainer styles than you thought. The past few weeks I’ve been using a new $10 model from Chums, the ultra light Orbiter. You can barely see them in that photo at the top. That’s because they’re made of very thin coiled wire. They weigh in at less than a gram. A gram! Little rubber nubs on the end stretch to go over the tips of any glasses stems. You forget they’re there until you need them and they’re inconspicuous.
There’s what they call a “halo effect” too, which means they extend a bit to the back and stay off your head. That’s good I guess, but maybe not if you’re trying to lean your head back on a beach chair or someone walks up behind you and gets a wire in the face. Being made of metal, the Orbiter can also get a bit chilly in the cold: better for summer than on the slopes.
If you want something more traditional, you can get other eyeglass retainers in cotton, rope, or neoprene. If you’re a surfer or kayaker, you can even get a floating version.
I also hooked up a kids’ version to the first pair of sunglasses my daughter has ever worn that are worth more than $10. So far she’s gone a month without losing them, which is close to a new record. A highly recommended $6 investment for your junior traveler(s). You gotta like their promise on the package too. It says “Proven to withstand 1) white water rafting, 2) 200 mph freefalls, 3) 10-year-old on sugar.
And here’s something you don’t see often on products retailing for a few bucks: “Home grown in the USA.”
See the whole line at Chums.com
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on February 24th, 2010
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